FutureBeef

El Niño has been declared. What could it mean for your business?

Read the latest update 👇

El Niño is here but what it could mean for the seasons ahead 🤔
Yesterday the Bureau of Meteorology confirmed that an El Niño event is now underway, with flow-on impacts likely for winter and spring conditions.

🌦️ What to watch:
🔸Increased chance of drier than average conditions across eastern and southern Australia
🔸Warmer than average temperatures in many regions
🔸Increased risk of warmer conditions, fire weather and variability

The current outlook for July to September is:
🔸Rainfall likely to be below average in parts of eastern Australia
⚠️ Remember: below average rainfall doesn’t mean no rain. It just means less than usual.
🔸Temperatures likely to be above average.

Important: El Niño doesn't drive the climate or the season alone. Conditions will also be shaped by other climate factors like the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), sea surface temperatures and broader climate trends. All of these can amplify or ease El Niño’s influence on spring and summer variability.

FACT: no 2 ENSO events are ever the same. Rainfall and temperature impacts can vary from one El Niño event to another. For example, winter to spring rainfall in 2002 was very different from 2015, as per the image sourced from the Bureau of Meteorology.

🐄 What does this mean for livestock production across northern Australia? Now’s the time to:
✅ Review water and feed budgets
✅ Plan for pasture and stocking pressure
✅ Keep track of temperature and evaporative stress for increased fire risks
✅ Stay updated with long-range forecasts

📈 Early signs suggest this could be a strong ENSO event, potentially lasting into early 2027. But outcomes can still shift depending on how other climate drivers evolve.

Our NACP team will continue sharing practical updates to support on-farm decisions, so stay tuned.

What does a beef extension officer get up to in the Fitzroy?

Quite a lot, as it turns out.

From helping producers improve land condition and drought resilience to supporting better weaner management, find out how the DPI Rockhampton beef extension team has been supporting producers through on-property advice, workshops, projects and industry development activities across the region.

Read the full article here 👉 https://info.futurebeef.com.au/4vNAxMo

Erosion can cost you years of soil, time and money.

Want to learn practical ways to tackle it yourself? These free hands-on workshops with NQ Dry Tropics NRM and erosion control specialist Darryl Hill will help you understand how water moves across your property and what you can do to reduce erosion.

Bungobine Station, Mt Coolon | 30 June
Mt Flagstone Station, Woodstock | 2 July

Find out more 👇

🌾 Guess the Native Grass Reveal: Desert Bluegrass 🌾

If you guessed Desert Bluegrass (Bothriochloa ewartiana) - well played!

This tough native perennial is worth its weight in gold in a dry landscape.

Why we love it:
• One of the real “survivors” in northern grazing systems
• Can persist through severe drought when other grasses disappear
• A valuable forage with a high leaf to stem ratio that's palatable to stock
• Long-lived tussocks can survive for decades if managed well

Research from the Wambiana grazing trial found Desert Bluegrass tussocks can live for up to 30 years under moderate stocking. During major drought years, around 60% of tussocks survived while many other grass species died out.

In other words, when the seasons turn ugly, this is one of the grasses you want hanging around.

🌱 Take-home message

Perennial grasses like Desert Bluegrass are the backbone of productive grazing country. Look after them and they’ll stick with you through the good years and the bad.

📚 Read more here: https://info.futurebeef.com.au/4wgLOpy



Queensland Agriculture
Agriculture Northern Territory
Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development

Do you know which breeders are paying their way?

Learn how pregnancy diagnosis and reproductive management can help improve herd efficiency at an upcoming Herd Health & Efficiency Workshop:

Tuesday 23 June | Jericho
Wednesday 24 June | Blackall
Thursday 25 June | Tambo

Find out more 👇

PROUD TO ANNOUNCE OUR WORKSHOPS ARE LIVE

And the funding is now available - contact us to find out more today.

💰 FIRST-TIME PREGNANCY DIAGNOSIS SUBSIDY AVAILABLE 💰

Are you in the Longreach Veterinary Services Catchment and the DCQ region and considering pregnancy diagnosis all your herd?

Eligible producers may be able to access a financial incentive of up to 50% of pregnancy diagnosis costs (approximately $2 per head) through our DCQ-supported program.

Workshops have been in planning for over 2 years on this initiative and are run by and organised through Longreach Veterinary Services.

Please see the workshops below and note we will also be bringing our new mobile clinic to all the towns below.

Get your cattle business humming in this years market and season.

✅ Identify non performers
✅ Reduce Reproductive Wastage
✅ Improve herd efficiency and reproductive performance through correct vaccination protocols
✅ Design your reproductive year with help from the Longreach Veterinary Services
✅ Align with markets and nutritional requirements
✅ Identify which bulls may need replacing and challenge the performance of your heard.
✅ Join some of our clients that enjoy some of the benefits of new AI and IVF technologies
✅ Sit down with Dr Jordan Stayt Dr Lucy Frousheger Dr Gavin Pensini and the team to design your 'Breeding Blueprint'

Eligibility includes:
• Producers within the DCQ catchment area e service as far as Hughenden in the North, Boulia in the West, Jericho to the East and all the Desert Channels that flow to the South.
• Breeder herds only (not trade, backgrounding or export animals)
• First-time while herd pregnancy diagnosis participants
• Willingness to provide pregnancy diagnosis records and participate in land condition monitoring

See if you're eligible with Longreach Veterinary Services today
46583838

Re-breed rates and calf to calf intervals are critical in season variable Western Queensland

Upcoming DCQ Herd Health & Efficiency Workshops run by Longreach Veterinary Services are up and running this week. You can also hear about Halter the new herd management technology sweeping the globe.

📅 9th June - Barcaldine
📅 10th June - Muttaburra
📅 11th June - Winton
📅 23rd June - Jericho
📅 24th June - Blackall
📅 25th June - Tambo

📞 Contact Longreach Veterinary Services to discuss booking pregnancy diagnosis and herd health for your herd and learn more about the subsidy. 46583838

Funding and eligibility criteria apply so discuss this great initiative developed by DCQ and Longreach Veterinary Services today

🌱 Guess the native grass…

You’ve all been absolutely killing it on W**d Wednesday lately… so we thought we’d change things up!

Let’s see how good you are at picking your native pastures.

Here are a few clues:
✔️ A classic 3P grass: productive, perennial and palatable
✔️ Can grow up to 150 cm tall
✔️ Aromatic when crushed
✔️ Stem joints are lightly bearded with a short ring of hairs
✔️ Seedheads have 5–30 branches radiating from the stem (seeds not pitted)

📍 You’ll find it across a fair chunk of the country - through the Kimberley (WA), across the Northern Territory as far south as the Finke River, and right through the eastern half of Queensland (from Longreach and Charleville east) into NSW and SA.

One of our scientists’ favourites and honestly, one of the best native grasses going.

Think you know it? Drop your guess below 👇

We’ll reveal the answer tomorrow!


Queensland Agriculture
Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development
Agriculture Northern Territory

Could an Agricultural Trade Apprenticeship help with staff needs on your property?

The National Farmers' Federation is seeking feedback from producers and industry stakeholders to help build the case for a dedicated agricultural apprenticeship pathway.

Have your say by completing the short survey 👇

Help us build the case for an Agricultural Trade Apprenticeship 🧑‍🌾

The NFF, in collaboration with Skills Insight, is seeking feedback from producers and industry stakeholders to demonstrate strong industry demand for agricultural apprentices.

The results will help show the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations that there is genuine appetite across the sector to employ and train apprentices.

📝 The survey takes just 4–5 minutes to complete, and every response strengthens the case for this important initiative.

Complete the survey 👉 https://okt.to/fy0JFP

What's changing in the red meat industry and what does it mean for your business or clients?

Join livestock advisors, producers and extension professionals at Meat & Livestock Australia's Livestock Advisor Updates.

From practical tools and emerging technologies to the latest research and industry trends, it's an opportunity to build your knowledge and expand your network.

📍 Roma
📅 16 July 2026

Find out more 👉 https://bit.ly/4fwEGzM

If you've spotted a new face bouncing around western Queensland lately, chances are you've met Zoe.

We're putting a few faces to the names behind our team and this time it's one of our newest team members.

Say g'day to Zoe Sibley, based in Longreach. While she's only been with Queensland Agriculture for five months, Zoe has certainly hit the ground running. Lately, she's been clocking up plenty of kilometres across western Queensland, helping with end-of-wet-season monitoring for the Queensland Pasture Resilience Program trial sites.

Zoe works across both Leading Sheep and GrazingFutures: Prepare and Prosper, supporting producers and building her knowledge of the industries that drive western Queensland.

Growing up on a cherry farm in Victoria gave Zoe an early appreciation for the challenges agriculture faces to remain productive and profitable. More recently, time spent on cattle stations in north-west Queensland provided valuable insight into the opportunities and realities of extensive grazing businesses.

Passionate about grazing land management and animal nutrition, Zoe is eager to learn as much as she can from producers and help turn that knowledge into practical outcomes on the ground.

The important questions:
✔ Favourite legume? Stylos (although she admits that might be because she's counted a few lately!)
✔ Ute playlist? A bit of everything—with an audiobook thrown in for good measure
✔ Passion? Helping producers build knowledge and confidence in the topics that matter to them
✔ What she'd like producers to know? If you've got a question, reach out, we're here to help

Whether it's grazing land management, animal nutrition, sheep, cattle, or just a question you've been meaning to ask, Zoe is always keen to have a chat and learn alongside producers.

Find Zoe Sibley's contact details here 👉 https://info.futurebeef.com.au/3Qdbrre

Join producers, advisors and industry representatives at Carly and Grant Burnham's property Bonnie Doone near Monto for a day of shared experiences, practical ideas and conversations about the future of farming.

Thursday 9 July | 8:30am – 5:00pm

Find out more 👇

AgForce members, Carly & Grant Burnham, are hosting a collaborative field day at Bonnie Doone in partnership with RCS, CarbonLink and Burnett Mary Regional Group (BMRG), this immersive one-day event connects paddock, plate, people and possibility.

Throughout the day, attendees will:
• Explore soil, pasture, livestock and food systems through on-farm workshops
• Hear practical insights from industry leaders including David McLean and Dr Terry McCosker OAM
• Learn from real producer experiences and applications
• Connect with like-minded producers through meaningful discussion
• Enjoy a shared long-table lunch featuring Bonnie Doone’s renowned beef

Whether you’re interested in soil health, grazing management, farm profitability or building more resilient farming systems, this day offers practical insights, fresh perspectives and valuable connections.

📍 Bonnie Doone, Monto QLD
📅 Thursday 9 July 2026
🕣 8:30am – 5:00pm
👉 Register via the link or call 1800 356 004